There's a very specific moment in a company's life when Excel becomes an enemy, not a friend. You're working in 4 parallel files, no one knows which version is the right one, you lost a deal because you didn't call a lead on time, and every month starts with 2 hours of "who's doing what?".
That's when a custom CRM pays dividends. Before that — Excel is enough.
Excel is enough for you if...
- You have less than 50 simultaneously active clients.
- You work alone or with 1-2 colleagues.
- The process is simple: offer → order → invoice.
- You don't lose leads because of clutter.
You need custom CRM if...
- 3+ colleagues "think" they are dealing with the same client.
- You lose sales because you forget to call back.
- Do you want to instantly see "how many offers are in progress and at what stage?"
- You have recurring processes (3 days after quote, 7 days after order) — you want them to happen automatically .
- Customer data is scattered across emails, WhatsApp, Excels, and a colleague's mind.
Why custom, not "off-the-shelf"?
Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive — they're all great tools. But:
- Monthly cost forever — €30-50/user/month × 5 users × 12 months = €0/year, every year.
- They force you into their process — have a flow that doesn't fit? You buy an add-on. Or you adapt.
- Your data is with them — do you want to change platforms? Migration is a nightmare.
- You pay for features you don't use — 80% of the features remain untouched.
Custom CRM means: your process , exactly how your company works, without monthly rents to a foreign platform.
What goes into a GateHex custom CRM
- Customer list with complete history (offers, orders, communication).
- Visual pipeline — see what stage each lead is in.
- Tasks and deadlines with automatic notifications.
- Roles and permissions (sales sees what is needed, accounting sees what is needed).
- Reports that really interest you (not the predefined ones of a platform).
- Email + WhatsApp integration for direct communication from CRM.
- Daily backup, your data stays with you forever.
How long does it take? How much does it cost?
A functional custom CRM, with pipeline + tasks + reports — 4-8 weeks, 4.000-8.000 €. One time , not monthly. After that you only have maintenance (50-150 €/month, optional).
Compared to €3,000/year paid to an external platform forever, custom CRM becomes cheap after 18-24 months — and it's 100% yours.
Tired of Excel? Request a quote for a custom CRM or write to us directly about the processes you want to see in it.